


Isolated

by Fractoluminescence



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Ensemble Cast, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, How Do I Tag, Karakura Town, Love, M/M, Multi, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, and pretty much lots of other tags that don't exist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-02-09 12:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18638116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fractoluminescence/pseuds/Fractoluminescence
Summary: There are two ways of getting isolated from one's world. Getting lockedin, and getting lockedout. In both cases, it's a change in one's environment.What's been going on... Some call it rotting. Some call it thriving. Some say it's the same thing. AndI, of all people, am expected to be able to tell the difference.Great. That makes things so muchsimpler, doesn't it?(Note to readers: This story will probably get pretty long... I know the first chapters seem unrelated but they actuallyare, just saying)





	1. Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Started around 4 a.m., finished near 6:45 a.m. on a Monday morning under a tent with an alarming wind outside...  
> \- Anyhow. You'll notice I'm putting theme songs for most of the chapters.  
> Just warning you. 1/3 will actually have to do with the chapter or its mood. 1/3 will distort its meaning into nonsense. The last third will have nothing to do altogether with the chapter... Just sayin' ^^;  
> So... I dunno. You can still look them up. They're nice songs ^^  
> \- Just to warn you. I can't guarantee regular updates, much less short ones... I'll do my best though. It SHOULD be around two weeks each time - has been up until now.  
> \- Rating may change. I'll warn you in that case.  
> \- The character list isn't complete; too many people are going to show up. As for pairings, they will show only when the story gets to them., to avoid spoiling - as annoying as this would have been to me had I been a reader ^^;  
> \- A million thanks to GrowingAHead for proof-reading this story! I'll never thank her enough for this... (Her writing's awesome go read her stories)  
> \- Please review! It's really important to people who write... 'Kudos' doesn't really give the impression of being 'people', so reviews are way more valuable to us ^^;  
> \- There will be a different picture for each chapter. I get them from a website called 'Unplash', or from DeviantArt.
> 
> -> Cover: https://unsplash.com/photos/iuC9fvq63J8 (Photo by Alec Douglas)
> 
> -> Theme: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day
> 
> THIS CHAPTER IS SET DURING THE THOUSAND YEAR BLOOD WAR. TIME WILL THEN SKIP A FEW WEEKS AHEAD.

Tatsuki tapped her phone's screen lightly. _3:34 a.m._ Then what?

Ichigo was gone, _again_. She hadn't heard of him for weeks. Same for Orihime. Chad also.

Ishida had been missing for just as long a period. She briefly wondered what the teachers would say to their best student when he showed up again.

In her right hand, Tatsuki held her phone. In the other was the ticket that man in a pink coat had given her. The image of the tall Soul Reaper with an eyepatch and cut ear still stayed, not unlike an after image, rising out from the shadows of her room.

She fiddled with the bit of paper. She had taken it out to look at, and somehow it just wouldn't leave her hand...

She glanced out her window, and the wind howled over the sound of the rain, as if the sky was whining in pain. _Now,_ thought Tatsuki, _you couldn't just quietly_ _ **weep**_ _, could you?_

Then suddenly everything stopped. The wind, the rain, even night itself seemed to stop as one single flash of lightning blinded her. Her eyes closed reflexively. As she tentatively opened them again, thunder rumbled menacingly, and a shape seemed to appear and grow at the horizon. Tatsuki climbed off her bed and stumbled over to the window. She threw it open and, feeling the clouds weighing on her, squinted into the distance.

At the horizon? No, the shape was much closer than that... And it was growing, literally, taller and taller, as if it were nibbling at bits of Alice's magic mushroom. It was also long, stretching from northwest to southeast as far as one could see, like a great barrier circling Karakura.

Tatsuki stared into the gloom. She stayed still one moment, looking out that window. Then she turned and ran for the door, grabbing a coat along the way, then stopped, went to her desk, and scribbled on a sticky note:

_went for a walk_

She dashed through the door, down the stairs, and out her house barefoot, down the street and left to the southwest, her feet splashing in the puddles as she kept her eyes on her goal. There was no use going to the Kurosaki clinic, Ichigo wasn't there anyway. No, she was rather heading for that huge _barrier over there_.

-=-=O=-=-

_4:02 a.m._ Tatsuki had stopped running a while ago. A few minutes earlier the Onose river had cut her off, and she was now walking along its banks. She had left Karakura and was getting to the foot of the 'barrier'.

She looked up as it loomed over her, seeming to say: _Now, where exactly do you think you're going?_

She walked up to it. Now that she was close she could see it was orange and slightly translucent, amber-like. She ran her hand along the smooth surface, and when she applied pressure to it with the palm of her hand she found it felt like pushing against a balloon, or perhaps Jell-O. But she also felt something else, something inside tugging at the white spiritual ribbons that surrounded her protectively. She drew back her hand in alarm.

Tatsuki looked left and right. A few night wanderers had stopped by to 'take a glance', and were either staring in astonishment or taking selfies with the odd Jello-O. A few turned to look at her. She looked at herself: in pyjamas, hair unbrushed, feet soaking in the icy water.

It was time she went home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review?
> 
> BTW, it's my first time posting on AO3. If, at any point, you recall a tag that you think would fit my story, please leave a comment about it or notify me in some way so I can take a look and maybe add it ^^


	2. Eavesdropping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- "Here's another chapter!! Can't believe I'm actually posting this after several years of thought on the story... :O" said I when posting this on FFN  
> \- Do know that this chapter was the first to be written, and I had to not only modify it several times, but also translate it and change some of the characters ^^; So it might sound a bit blocky...   
> \- I'm going to try updating every two weeks. Will I achieve this? See for yourself (Note: I don't know if it'll stay so, but if you're impatient FFN is ahead of a few chapters right now)  
> \- Just to warn you readers though, this story's probably going to end up the length of a saga... You're in for a long ride...   
> \- Thank you so much to GrowingAHead again, I don't know what I'd do without her...   
> \- The theme for this one is a completely different type of music from the previous, AND in a different language... But I associate it with Kyouraku, now as to why... 
> 
> -> Cover: https://unsplash.com/photos/nhVOVCsxQSk (Photo by Bui Bao) 
> 
> -> Theme: "Trois Francs Six Sous" by Opa Tsupa

"Captain!"

Nanao slid the door sharply aside, but froze in slight surprise. The two men turned to her, apparently interrupted mid-speech. She immediately bowed.

"Forgive me, I hadn't noticed."

"It's okay, Nanao-chan. This will only take a few minutes, you'll have all my attention right after!"

"Alright. Captain Hirako..."

She addressed him with a slight bow, which he returned. Then she closed the door and took a step back.

Only to notice a figure standing against the wall, who slowly raised a finger to her lips in a silencing motion.

"Yad ōmaru-san, what... are you doing...?" Nanao whispered.

The other's eyes glanced at her, before going back to the door. After a long moment of silence, she answered:

"I guess I 'wasn't able' to get rid of these habits. Besides, I'm just practicing."

_Huh..._ It wasn't like she still needed the spying, she attended the meetings for the 8th, right?... But that wasn't Nanao's business. What  _was_ though was the letter she herself held, and to which Lisa had now directed her gaze. Nanao straightened.

"This letter from the Sixth Division is my and Captain Kyōraku's business only."

"Oh, so it's from Kuchiki-san...?"

Liza was quick to grab it from her, and - much to the Lieutenant's dismay - to open it, scanning the neat handwriting inside.

_Please consider telling your subordinate Ise Nanao  
to STOP urging the other members of the Soul Reaper  
Women's Association to plant sour figs in __**my**_ _garden._  
I agree that their many properties as medicine are impressive,  
but I will NOT allow them as these plants are edible and will  
leave patches of bare dirt once former Lieutenant  
Kusajishi learns about their potential use as food.

Nanao snatched the letter back, blushing as the Eighth Division's Lieutenant mustered all her existing self-control to hold back wild laughter. But both froze as the voices on the other side of the door picked up again.

"So, you were telling me one was found at the outskirts of Rukongai...?" went on the Head-Captain.

"Aye, by Shiba Kūkaku."

"And how was she able to pinpoint it?"

"Was told a young girl crossed it. Haven't met her yet - still knocked out, apparently - thus no idea what her intentions might be."

Kyōraku looked at him straight in the eye, then lowered his hat and asked, with nonetheless a tinge of wariness in his voice:

"Oh well... That's not very practical, is it? Doesn't  _any of you_ have the slightest idea?"

His colleague tensed up.

"Nope. No idea."

"...I see. Thank you for your report anyway."

Footsteps were heard, and both women backed away slowly.

"One last thing..."

They relaxed, and to Nanao's astonishment, Lisa even pressed her ear against the door.

"Tell me if I'm mistaken, but I figure you've already crossed one of these portals yourself, haven't you?"

The blond Captain didn't turn.

"I mean, you told me yourself it was a hazardous journey that girl undertook. I don't mean to act nosy, but you know more than you'd like to tell, don't you?"

A moment of silence. Then...

"...That's nothin' of your business."

Kyōraku heaved a sigh.

"You sure don't open up often, do you...?"

This time Hirako didn't answer. He resumed walking to the door, and Nanao watched Lisa tiptoe silently away down the corridor.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters are short right now but they may become longer as the story goes. I guess it's often like that in the beginning? (Maybe?)


	3. The Epic Thanksgiving Peacock Race

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Hi!! Anyone still reading the A/N...? :P  
> \- The idea of taking The Scarlet Letter was really random. I just asked some person in my class the name of a book and they told me the title of the one we had just finished studying, so... There isn't a particular reason for it originally, but I just might find a use for it (no, seriously)...  
> \- Well, thanks to my dear classmate, Japanese students now study overly-complicated American literature. Why not.  
> And thanks to that same friend, there is some other weird stuff in here... (The mountain name for example...)  
> \- Apart from that... I believe American readers will find something in this chapter horribly odd. Just look at the chapter title, for goodness' sake!  
> And this time, it is my fault...  
> \- Yet again, the whole chapter's pretty odd-seeming to me...  
> \- Thank you so much to GrowingAHead, again, for proof-reading this chapter, and for having the best ideas ever. A good third of this chapter exists thanks to her. Thank you so much T^T
> 
> -> Cover: https://unsplash.com/photos/7E29j_4GBNI (Photo by Gabby Orcutt)
> 
> -> Theme: "Outer Space" by Odd Chap

"Today we're starting a brief study of American literature, the first of our 3 works being The Scarlet Letter -"

The teacher abruptly stopped and her eyes swept the room, narrowing at a couple of students.

"Well, well, well... What do we have here? Apparently, Kurosaki and his gang have done us the great _honor_ of being in our presence today. I have to admit I am not overly surprised that Kurosaki and Yasutora have been absent, it's not as if _that_ were out of the ordinary -" she glared at them as both boys looked purposefully at the floor - "but Inoue, and especially _you_ , Ishida, of all people... I _truly_ thought the two of you were better than this..."

The classroom was silent for a few moments. Suddenly, Orihime spoke up as if awakening from a dream:

"But Ochi-sensei, don't you know about the Thanksgiving Peacock!?"

The whole class stared at her. Tatsuki briefly wondered why the 'peacock' thing sounded so wrong...

And since nobody answered, Orihime went on.

"You haven't heard of it? Well, Thanksgiving is an American holiday. The Thanksgiving Peacock is told to be able to grant three wishes on Thanksgiving to whoever catches it first! So of course, everybody who knew about it quickly hurried to Mount SweetMonster to get it, and that way a giant and intense race started as to who would get to the top first!"

Orihime paused to breathe, but didn't stop there. Uryū pulled his glasses off and exasperatedly rubbed his nose between his thumb and forefinger as she told her tale...

"At the very beginning, Ichigo's dad took the first place, but he quickly fell back to help Yuzu who had tripped over a root. Rukia ate her crackers as she ran, so she wasn't going very fast at first, but once she had a sip of water her speed literally _doubled_. She and her brother were running up front, but then Uryû caught up with them, except Byakuya sent him a glare and he fell back -"

" _I did NOT!!_ "

Uryū blushed bright red as his classmates and teacher turned to him. He stuttered.

"I, uh... I was tying my shoelaces!"

"Laaaame..." said Ichigo. "No _wonder_ you didn't win."

Anger flared up in the Quincy.

"You-! You were _last_ , so you don't have the right to say that!!"

"I-" The Soul Reaper crossed his arms. "Yuzu twisted her ankle when she fell. I couldn't just ignore it and go on racing! Besides, you usually never wear shoelaces, or you wouldn't be _that_ slow at doing them!"

At that point Tatsuki face-palmed.

-=-=oOo=-=-

In the end they somehow managed to get only one hour of detention each - seemingly thanks to Orihime's twisted tale - and the class moved on to the lesson. But if the majority of the students had been silent - mostly from bewilderment - during the story of the Epic Thanksgiving Peacock Race, they now got quickly unfocused. Most of them chatted among themselves and gave long, anxious glances out the window, northwards. This went on until someone raised a hesitating hand.

"Yes?" A pair of glasses turned to him. The student tried sounding casual.

"I was wondering, Ochi-sensei... I asked around, and nobody seemed to know, and since you don't seem worried... Do you happen to know what that orange thing outside is?..."

Tatsuki glanced at the barrier. In daylight it was indeed easier to see its color. In her mind, she actually questioned the fact that the masses hadn't started to panic by now. This calm probably wouldn't last.

"No, I do not. Do _you_ happen to know, Takahashi-san?"

"Well, no, I -"

"Do you _always_ ask your teachers to explain newly appearing phenomena as if they were specialized in such things? I know _'I_ ' did not at your age. Even though teachers are supposed to have more experience than you, that doesn't mean they are all-knowers." She sighed. "I remember, when I was in high school - which wasn't that long ago, mind you! - and I had this one science teacher who I thought would always know _everything_. Until one day I happened to ask him about 'the molecular structure of a spider web'."

Someone in the room heaved a sigh, without daring to actually interrupt her. She ignored it.

"Now, as it happened that teacher was terrified of spiders. But I reasoned that this wouldn't stop him from knowing a thing or two about their webs, wouldn't you agree? So I asked him. He said he didn't have an answer. I asked him where I could look for the information and he advised me to go to the school library. But when I got there I was told all the books about spiders were constantly borrowed - as a matter of fact the lady at the desk said that students tended to complain about how their teacher didn't know a thing about spiders; and in a small village like ours, there wasn't really anybody else to ask. So I'd have to wait until someone with a borrowed book showed up to get a chance to look at it _before someone else showed up_ .  
Looking back on this period I think it might have been partially due to the popularity of Spider-Man in my school that year..."

As she said this she put a finger to her lips in thought, a childish gesture that was noticed and interpreted by several students as a mocking imitation of Orihime. It was gone in an instant, and Ochi-sensei's face went from thoughtful to serious as she readjusted her glasses. This particular vengeful mimicking had several students snickering and a particular one seething.

"In any case," she went on, "this event taught me two things: first, no teacher is an all-knower, especially in a subject he or her has never been in contact with."

 _'Obviously'_ , thought the room.

"Second: rare information is so valuable that it can entice primary students to go as far as to trade their lunches for it." She frowned. " _Three_ lunches, to be exact. And he lent me the book for only _twenty-four hours_. I call that daylight robbery."

Ochi Misato then turned back to the board, stubbornly ignoring the awkward silence at her back as her students silently debated which of the two - Orihime or their teacher - was weirder.

After deciding that at least Ochi-sensei's tale had made _some_ sort of sense - though Inoue's was more entertaining - Takahashi attempted to take notes, failing miserably as his eyes followed the moving chalk, then drifted over to the teacher.

He stared at the woman's back as she went on teaching an ordinary lesson to ordinary students in an ordinary school. Then again, she was just an ordinary teacher _herself_ , after all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Orihime's tale is nonsense, of course. Now, I wonder if Misato's might not actually be true... ^^;  
> Hopefully you'll like seeing her around, because she's gonna be there quite a bit in certain parts of the story. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Review?


	4. First Sight of Another World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Hi everybody!! :D  
> \- Here's another chapter. You people might have been wondering (speaking to the few people who actually read this story ^^;) who the girl mentioned in chapter 2 was (the one who came in through a portal). Well, here she is ^^  
> \- I think it'll bring forth your curiosity - hopefully it will, at least. That's what it's meant to do, anyways...  
> \- Thanks again to GrowingAHead - I swear, I wouldn't be so confident posting this if it wasn't for her. Thank you so much T^T 
> 
> -> Cover: https://unsplash.com/photos/WL9OyFoDrpA (Photo by Pelle Martin)
> 
> -> Theme: "Une fille dans le désespoir" by Malicorne

She felt as light as a feather. Something like a soft cloth brushed against her body, and she fought her subconscious' suggestion of a shroud. This type of thought was unwanted here. It had to be. Besides, a shroud would be much lighter than this... right...?

It took a few minutes for her to calm down. Then she opened her eyes.

Above her was the blank ceiling of a large room. Light seeped in through the curtains on the opposite wall. The ceiling stretched to her right and left. Her position - on her back, looking up - prevented her from seeing further.

In an effort to analyze her surroundings, she sat up - a sudden movement that she realized had been a bad idea. As she clutched her head in sudden headache, her shoulder-length dark brown hair falling over her face, a voice spoke up hesitantly.

"Um... Good morning!"

Next to her bed sat a boy on a stool. Her vision was still blurred, but Lydia gazed at him anyway.

_Black, traditional Japanese kosode-like clothing, white shitagi under it, can't see past the white obi. Something hangs from the sash over his right shoulder. Short black hair. Looks shy. Nothing dangerous in his hands... Dammit, should have checked that **first**. _

She needed something to take notes.

Since the boy seemed to have no other intention than to smile at her, Lydia took her time to look around the room. She made out a few other beds, as well as tables covered in rolled-up bandages and vials. She assumed she was in some sort of medical care building, an infirmary maybe?

She had to admit she was glad to have woken up in a place that looked relatively welcoming.

"Here. Take this..."

The boy had stood up and was coming back with a glass of water. He held it out to her. Lydia took it and tried to thank him, but her throat was too dry so she gave him a nod instead.

At least they spoke the same language. Lydia was thankful for that too, as well as for all the familiar things she was currently surrounded by. You never knew what you'd come upon when entering a different world. She wondered to what extent it resembled her own.

She _really_ needed something to write on. And something to write _with_. She had taken all she needed with her, so hopefully her stuff was close by. She pulled the covers off herself and gazed at what she wore.

Her traveling clothes. Gone. She checked the white shitagi wrapping her body for pockets.

Nothing.

She frantically looked around. Nothing on the bedside table, nothing in the boy's hands, or on the other beds, as for the other tables and the floor... She couldn't see, she had to sit straighter, she had to _stand_...

The boy pushed her back down onto the bed.

"You shouldn't stand. You'll worsen your condition. And um..." he spoke, his voice dropping its professional tone, "if it's your belongings you're looking for, they're in the drawer..."

_Oh._

Lydia pulled at the handle next to her bed and found her traveling clothes neatly folded inside, with all of her pockets' contents on top. Including her notepad.

Hanatarō watched her shoulders relax as she pulled a few objects out. She put the notepad on the table beside her, turning it to the first page - which was blank. _It has to be brand new_ , he thought. He went on watching as she circled her forearm with a long, bendable pencil - _Unusual to write with, but I guess it must be harder to break -_ and folded the end of her sleeve over it. Then she slid a golden, engraved bracelet over her left wrist and looked back at him with a bright smile. He did his best to return it.

There was a knock at the door, and Hanatarō went to open it.

"Hirako-taichō." The boy bowed. "Good morning."

What he got in return was something that sounded like a muttered  'Morning, Hanatarō' followed by 'Was sent to check on her once she woke up'. The Captain - that's what 'taichō' meant, right? At least Lydia _thought_ it was - glanced at her. Then he turned and headed back for the door.

"Um... Sir?" Hanatarō cursed his horrible sense of formality. "A... greeting for her, maybe...?"

The man stopped. Lydia snapped to attention.

_Analyze. First: nothing in his hands. Second: similar outfit to the boy - black and white traditional Japanese clothing - no bag though_ _-_ _and a white, flowing haori-like cape with black markings near the bottom, going down to his thighs. Third: short, blond hair going down to his chin, practically golden, with the bangs cut askew._ And his odd frown seemed to mean: _You've got to be kidding me._

He might as well have said it.

"Just how many tries did it take for even _one_ of ya to come back alive!?"

Lydia froze. What did _he_ know about portals? She unconsciously brought her hand to the golden bracelet, twisting it nervously around her wrist.

Either the question had been rhetorical or the questioner wasn't willing to wait for an answer. He turned again and had already taken a step out the door by the time Lydia shouted:

"Wait!"

She reflexively put a hand to her mouth - one doesn't shout in a hospital, or whatever this place was. But it had been effective; the man took a step back and stuck his head through the door, a bony hand gripping the doorframe.

"What?"

His tone was sour. Lydia more or less managed to pull herself together - wondering why it was so hard, why she had a lump in her throat, considering she had never been a particularly shy person - and used as much defiance as she was able to muster.

"You speak as if you knew better."

Her voice had come out sounding rather accusatory - not that she minded. How _dare_ he question the legitimacy of her presence here! She raised her head to add another snapping remark -

Suddenly her whole body went rigid, and at that moment she couldn't tell whether the violent shaking of her shoulders was a shiver or a shudder. "I'll tell you somethin'."

The whisper that slipped down her ear felt like a trickle of icy water.

"Has it occurred to ya that the portal ya went through might've been a one-way ticket?"

Then he was gone. Lydia barely saw him walk out.

After a moment of silence, Hanatarō laughed uneasily.

"Well _that_ was... blunt...!" He commented, in hopes of cheering her up.

Lydia didn't answer. She lay back down onto the bed, overcome by a sudden urge to hide under the warm, safe covers. She closed her eyes, holding back unwanted tears. Then she somehow managed to fall asleep, the worry and the _fear_ fading away. At least for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hopefully you enjoyed reading this chapter ^^  
> If you did, please leave a review - thankfully I won't die of hunger - not with GrowingAHead as a proof-reader anyway - but it would still be nice ^^


	5. Pathetic Fallacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Hi!  
> \- I like the construction of this chapter - maybe because it's the first time I do something like this? Dunno ^^;  
> \- This chapter is late. About that, too - I'll be on vacation for about a month so the next chapter may probably also be 2 weeks late...  
> \- For those who don't know what 'pathetic fallacy' is, it's basically when it rains while a character is sad, or sunny when a character is particularly happy. More or less.  
> \- Thanks again to my dear proof-reader GrowingAHead for this - like that last little bit of the chapter that I wasn't sure about. Dunno what I'd do without her... 
> 
> -> Cover: https://unsplash.com/photos/XX5oV4SaN2w (Photo by Leon Contreras)
> 
> -> Theme: "Better Than I Know Myself" by Adam Lambert

Ichigo nearly tripped as he stepped onto the roof.

"You sure you're alright?" asked Keigo, launching himself forward to catch his friend in case he _did_ fall, only to land on his face miserably.

"I told you already, I'm fine," the other replied as he let go of the doorframe he had been holding onto. In truth, he had a horrible headache. It had started right after the last battle in the Spiritual Realm, when the adrenaline went down, and had been gradually getting worse since then.

Then again, he hadn't been the only one; Uryū looked pale, Chad looked queasy... Goat Face and Karin, as much as they were trying to hide it, looked a little off.

And Yuzu had broken a plate for the _very first time_.

Only Orihime was seemingly unaffected, although she seemed even more unfocused than usual...

Ichigo walked forward, but as he headed for their usual spot across from the door, Keigo ‘subtly' took him by the shoulders and steered him to the left.

"Hey, something up with you?" asked the redhead casually. There was no way he was raising his voice with that headache.

His friend didn't answer. Instead he gestured to Mizuiro and Chad, and made Uryū... an awkward face.

The Quincy followed anyway.

All five of them settled in a corner, away from the door and from the opposite side of the roof where Ōshima and his group tended to sit.

"So," Keigo immediately started, then waited expectantly. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at him.

"'So' what?"

"So!"

"..."

"Where were you?" clarified Mizuiro after a moment.

Keigo turned to him in outrage, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and shaking him back and forth violently, tears streaming down his face.

"Mizuiro!! Hadn't you promised to let me ask him? What am I to you?! I thought you trusted me with this... T_T"

Ichigo seized the opportunity to seek Uryū's help, but the latter shook his head. _Damn._ As for Chad, he was suddenly occupied with watching a group of birds flying some distance away.

"So?" asked Mizuiro. Keigo turned his head to look at him as well. Both their gazes were clearly meant to signal the orange-haired teen that it was _his_ turn to say something. He sighed.

"Didn't you listen to Orihime?" he said. "We were at that _Grand and Magnificent_ something- _Peacock Race_..."

His four companions stared at him in disbelief. Then Uryū cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses.

"Indeed. And it was quite an experience," he said diplomatically.

"Certainly must have been," a wickedly grinning Ichigo added, "for someone who can't tie his shoelaces fast enough to win it."

That's how Keigo ended up spending the next ten minutes of his life trying to calm the both of them down. Then he asked his question again.

* * *

 "No, Orihime. For real. We all looove your stories, and creativity is great and all, but this is serious."

"You left without telling anybody, and you didn't leave a message."

"Exactly! Do you even know how worried we were?"

Orihime looked away. She looked at the bright green grass. At the roots, then up the trunk of a tree to its branches. Her eyes followed a robin as it flew off into the sky, which had lots of weird-shaped clouds in it, and if she looked carefully and used her imagination a bit she could make out a bunny, a pineapple, and a pinkish cloud that _totally_ looked like a sakura tree. A cat-shaped cloud disappeared in a Shunpo-like puff that floated away...

"Orihime!!"

Orihime snapped out of her daydream and looked ahead. Mahana had stood up and come closer, and was now waving a hand in front of her face.

"Hey, Miss Sky Princess! Figured out the 'Cloud Pattern' yet? Ready to come back down to Earth?"

Large, innocent-looking eyes blinked up at her.

"Well... I'm just packing my spacesuit! I'll be down there in just a moment!" Orihime clapped her hands together, her eyes glittering, proud of having found such an inspiring come-back. Mahana sighed.

"Don't think you can lock away your head in the sky like that forever,” she said. "It's not healthy, anyway."

Orihime giggled nervously.

"I don't, know what, you mean!" she sang, picking up her last meatball-cookie-crumb-and-jam sandwich. But before she could bite into it a hand grasped her shoulder and she froze, reflexively analyzing the heavy-hearted aura she felt beside her. She turned to Tatsuki, her smile faltering, and fought to disguise her expression as a quizzical one.

Tatsuki stood up. Orihime followed her. They walked a little way off and stopped among the trees. They stilled and stayed so for a moment in silence.

"Tatsuki..." Orihime started.

"Listen," said her friend quietly, and Orihime noticed that her voice was strained. "I already know what you are about to say. You mean to say sorry, that you wish I could have come along. All the while thinking that there was no way I could have done something useful without getting _hurt_ \- not any more than _you_ could anyway."

"Tatsuki..."

"But you _know_ that's not what I want to hear from you." Tatsuki’s eyes saddened as her friend looked at her feet. "What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time?" She paused, her voice dropping to a murmur. "How can I even _try_ to understand the decisions you make if I don't know what you're going through? How can I still... _be_ your friend? "

Wide, child-like eyes shot up at the sky in expectation, as if pleading the drifting white patches for help.

The Shunpo-like puff was still there. It was turning greyish and regrouping, taking the shape of a snake.

"Orihime! Stop looking away when I ask you something!" Tatsuki had grabbed her by the shoulders again. "You..." She looked on the verge of tears. "You didn't do that, before!"

There was a gust of wind and the grey cloud lost its shape, despite Orihime's attempts to make sense of it again.

Tatsuki tried standing in between her and the sky.

"You didn't get involved in a _war_ again, _did you?_ "

A storm was gathering. The last wisp of white cloud fluttered in alarm, like pale strands of hair waving rashly in the wind, then resigned itself to its fate. Black, half-liquid goo poured over it from the sky above, looming in like a tide and crackling with electricity.  
Orihime shuddered as she silently nodded. Tatsuki felt her spiritual pressure waver and shuddered in turn. A sudden question slipped past her lips.

"Who... won?"

Darkness engulfed the white wisp of cloud and it vanished into the storm.

"Orihime...?"

* * *

 "Ichigo...?"

Keigo's tone was one of worried concern, something his friends hadn't heard from him for quite a while. Mizuiro swept his calculating gaze across the faces of his classmates: Uryū was chewing slowly, following his chopsticks' movement with his eyes. Then he slowed down further and threw a queasy glance at his food. As for Chad, he had wisely put down his lunch already, intently looking at the sky again, watching a robin fly up and down and play in the wind.

Just as Keigo was getting ready to ask his question a second time, Ichigo answered on his own, without raising his head.

"...Nobody did."

Keigo stared at him in puzzlement.

"But it's over, right? How can it be over if nobody won?”

Ichigo would have replied if it wasn't for the heavy raindrop that landed on his hand. It was quickly followed by a dozen others.

"It's raining," stated Mizuiro. "Let's head in."

"Dammit, it's pouring! Orihime, Tatsuki, we're gonna head for cover!" shouted Mahana towards the trees. "Come on!"

As all five of them scurried towards the building, a blurry mass plummeted past Orihime's face. She stopped and looked down.

A robin, its wind-torn wing stained red, was lying motionless at her feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! (The chapter, I mean...) Please review if you did, it warms one's heart considerably ^^


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